


The Green Captive

by wholocked_Pinkie_in_theImpala



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Female Gavin Free, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, fem!Gavin, idk - Freeform, knights and magic and all that shit, probably angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-02-27 09:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2688506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholocked_Pinkie_in_theImpala/pseuds/wholocked_Pinkie_in_theImpala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An emerald assassin and a knight in the kingdom people fear to enter. What could possibly go wrong? Well when the assassin is actually a princess for another kingdom and the knight is loyal to the most insane man in the world, a lot of things could go wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Robin Hood and Little John

It was a beautiful day in the kingdom. The sun was beginning to set and its rays were shining over the trees. In the distance, children were laughing and their parents were relaxing. A beautiful day, indeed. But off to the distance was another kingdom. A kingdom that seemed to cast shadows around itself. That was the only thing the princess saw. She only saw the evil that was the Mad King’s kingdom. “Staring at it isn’t going to make it disappear.”

The princess turned and was met with a familiar face. It was her adoptive father’s adviser, Jack. “I know… But it just sticks out. I don’t know how people can ignore it so easily.” She fiddled with an arrow in the quiver hung on the wall.

“People choose to ignore the kingdom is even there from how scared they are. Not everyone is as brave as the ‘Green Assassin’.” Jack smirked when he saw the princess freeze.

“How did you know?” Gabrielle returned her hand to her side.

“How do you think I know? Who’s the only other person that knows your secret?”

Gabrielle grimaced. “Ray. He really cannot keep secrets, can he? What about Geoff? Did you tell him yet?”

“I don’t plan to tell him. You protect the kingdom just as well as any knight, we do not need that protection to go away.” The princess smiled. “And the only reason Ray told me is because I caught him in the stables in the middle of the night.”

“Oh.” Gabrielle rubbed her arm. “That would be my fault, then…”

“But anyway,” Jack continued. “What are you doing up here? If Griffon catches you she’ll give you another lecture on being a lady. You and Millie can practically recite it by now.”

“The archer was on break so I decided to come up here. And Griffon is at the other side of the palace, so right now was the perfect time to be here.” Gabrielle looked over the kingdom once more. It really was a beautiful day.

“Well you should come down now, it’s getting late.”

The princess sighed softly. “Fine.”

The night was always much prettier according to the princess. The stars would wink in the dark sky and the cool air was a comforting blanket against the heat of the village. Gabrielle knew what they were doing was dangerous, but that’s never stopped them before. She just hoped they got back before Geoff noticed something was going on. “Are you sure about this?” Ray asked. “This has to be the most stupid and risky thing we’ve ever done. And we’ve done a lot of those.”

“It’s fine,” The princess pulled her dark green hood down. “We’ll just scout the place out first. No need to rush things.”

“Sure thing, Robin Hood. We’ll just waltz over to the Mad King’s kingdom on horseback and come home unsacthed.” Ray turned as best as he could on the horse to face Gabrielle. “Sounds flawless.”

Gabrielle scowled. “You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to, Little John.” The princess smirked as the knight frowned.

“That was unnecessary. If I didn’t come you would have gotten caught.” Ray turned to the front. “You can be pretty clumsy and reckless at times.”

Gabrielle lightly thumped Ray on the back of the head. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Ray Narvaez. Speaking against the ones you are loyal to can get you into trouble.”

“Yeah but you or King Geoff can never hurt me. You both love me too much.”

“True. I suppose a hero does need a sidekick.”

“Ye -- Hey!”

Under the cover of night they made it to the Mad King’s kingdom undetected. The village they passed was in terrible condition. The tiny houses were either burnt or falling apart and the crops had been turned to ash. There wasn’t any sign if anything was alive. It was not a pretty sight. “I don’t like this…” Ray spoke Gabrielle’s thoughts. “It feels like we shouldn’t be here.”

There was an ominous feeling in the cool air. It was as if the wind was screaming, ‘turn back!’. “It’s just the kingdom,” Gabrielle said. “All who come here get a sense of foreboding.” She pulled her cloak tighter around her.

“It’s not just that. It’s as if something bad is going to happen.” Ray looked around like something or someone would appear out of no where.

“If you speak like that something will surely happen.” The princess suddenly felt as if she was being watched. “Who’s going to be blamed when we go missing? Not me.”

“Well who’s going to get into trouble for being the Green Assassin? Not me.” Ray unconsciously ran a hand over his horse’s coat.

“It seems we’ll both get into a lot of trouble for something, then.” It felt like the eyes were burning holes into Gabrielle’s cloak.

Ray let out a shaky breath. It really did not feel right here. “Wouldn’t be the first time, right?”

Before Gabrielle could respond, an arrow cut through the air and stabbed the ground beside them. “Oh, well that’s promising. Maybe we should run now?” Ray asked way too calmly.

“Don’t ask! Just do it!” Gabrielle shouted as another arrow came their way.

“You’re the princess.” Ray went to turn the horse around as quick as he could only to be met with a polished sword. “Fuck. Hold on.”

“Ray -- !” The horse took off with the fastest speed Gabrielle had ever known him to run. “Where are we going to go?! They’ll chase us back to the kingdom!”

“We’ll just run until we lose them!”

That didn’t sound very promising. Especially when an arrow hit the horse’s leg and he stumbled down a hill. Ray and Gabrielle fell off and ended up rolling beside him, getting scratched by twigs and the like on the way. They all landed on the ground with a hard thud. “Clarkson!” Ray cried out.

Gabrielle stood up and practically dragged Ray up with her. “Come on! They’re going to catch up with us.” She saw the arrows that were once in the quiver scattered all over the ground but she didn’t have time to see her bow.

They ran as fast as they could. They were in the most dangerous kingdom in the land without a way of escape. The only weapon either of them had was Ray’s sword. “It’s probably not the best time to say this,” Ray huffed as another arrow came flying at them. “But I told you so.” Gabrielle could have hit him if they weren’t running for their lives. Their pursuers showed no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

The chase could have gone on forever, but Gabrielle’s cloak got caught on something. She ended up falling down from the speed she was running and her cloak yanking her back. Ray skidded to a halt and ran over to help her. Gabrielle saw the knights of the Mad King were near. She cursed under her breath. “Go.”

Ray froze momentarily. “What? I can’t leave you here!”

“Yes you can.” Gabrielle pushed him away. “As your princess I order you to run.”

Ray stood there in shock. “Gabrielle --” An arrow hit the tree beside him.

“Go, Ray!”

Ray gave one last look at the princess before running as she ordered.


	2. The Mad King

The sun barely peaked over the horizon when a scream echoed off the walls of the palace. All the inhabitants that were not yet awake nearly fell out of bed at the sound. “What happened?” King Geoffrey asked as soon as he rushed over to the scene.

“The scream came from a startled servant girl.” Jack moved out of the way so Geoff could see who he was standing over. “It appears our favorite knight scared her.”

Ray gave a weak smile. He had several small cuts and he looked absolutely exhausted. “She was intimidated by my good looks.”

“I’m sure she was. So are you going to tell us where you were?” Jack crossed his arms making him look like a disappointed parent.

Ray looked between the advisor and the king. Honestly, he was scared of both of them. He sat up so he was properly leaning against the wall. “I… To get this straight, it was Gabrielle’s idea. I wanted nothing to do with it, but she insisted... But, um, w-we were in the Mad King’s kingdom.”

“What?” Geoff was speechless. How could Ray and Gabrielle go to that kingdom alone? That was idiotic! “Where’s Gabrielle?”

“She…” Ray looked at the ground. “I-I tried to get her, I really did.”

“What happened, Ray?” Jack said it a lot calmer than Geoff could have.

“After she fell, the knights had caught up with us. She told me to run. Ordered me, actually. So… I did. I didn’t stop until I got here.”

“So Gabrielle got captured by the Mad King’s knights?” Jack and Ray could just feel Geoff’s anger rise. “Not only did you two sneak off alone to the most dangerous place you could travel, but you let her get captured?”

“You know how stubborn Gabrielle is,” Jack tried to save the knight from the king’s rage. “Even if he wanted to help she probably would have pushed him away.”

“She did do that.” Ray agreed with Jack.

Geoff gave an aggravated sigh. “If you weren’t one of the best knights of the court I would probably kill you on the spot. But since you are, and the fact that Gabrielle is stubborn, I am not going to kill you.”

Ray felt relief wash over him. For a second, he thought Geoff was going to straight up execute him.

“If you do something this stupid again, I will not hesitate to strike you down.”

* * *

 The knight stood up straighter when the doors opened. The knights that had been out on patrol returned with a prisoner. The prisoner wore a green cloak with the hood obstructing his face. The knight had heard of him before; the Green Assassin. Villagers thought he would come and kill the Mad King one day. Turns out they were wrong. The knights tossed the Green Assassin at the king’s feet. The King smiled. “So this is the famed ‘Green Assassin’, hm?” He looked down at the cloaked figure on the floor. “What were you doing over here?” The assassin didn’t answer, just kept his head down. “Let’s see who’s under that hood, shall we?” In one swift movement, the Mad King removed the hood to reveal long, beautiful hair tied up in a bun. The knight’s eyes widened slightly. The Green Assassin was a woman?

The King’s smile widened. “This is interesting…” The King lifted the woman’s head with a finger. “The King’s ward. Isn’t she beautiful?” The Mad King moved the woman’s head so she was looking at the knight. Her mint eyes held hatred even if it didn’t show on her soft round face. “I can’t imagine Geoff sent you out here to kill me. Does he even know who you are?” Again she remained silent. The King moved her head so she was looking up at him once more. “Not going to talk? Fine. Michael.”

The knight jumped, but it wasn’t visible. “Yes, sire?”

“Take her underground. I believe you know where.”

Michael gave a slight nod and headed over to the prisoner. She stood up without hesitation but kept her eyes planted on the ground. The long walk underground was filled with a tense silence. The knight could tell the princess was just filled with every type of emotion the opposite of happiness. Once underground, Michael took a torch off the dirt wall. As they walked passed the cells -- almost all of them packed with villagers of every age and gender -- the princess was able to see how cruel the Mad King was. The young children ran up to the bars and looked at her. Some whispered of how pretty she was, others wondered how she even got down here, but most said the outfit she wore resembled the clothes of the Green Assassin.

One little girl held her hand out of the bars and grabbed onto Gabrielle’s cloak. The princess stopped walking and looked down at the child. She had dirt and soot all over her face and clothes. She looked way too skinny to even be standing up straight. “Are you going to save us?”

Gabrielle felt her heart split down the middle. She knelt down to the child’s height and grabbed her tiny hand. “I will do everything that I can. When you get out of here it’ll be a safe place; you can run around and do whatever you like. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

The little girl nodded.

Gabrielle smiled softly and stood up. When she looked at the knight she saw him look at the villagers with sadness in his eyes, when he noticed she was staring at him he looked away -- eliminating any emotion he had.

The princess only followed the knight for a little while longer. He eventually stopped at the cell at the end of the hall. There were no villagers in this cell or in any of the ones surrounding it; it was completely isolated. It seemed to have fallen into disrepair, it was grimy and lacked a lot of light. “This one is yours,” Michael said as he unlocked the door. “Good luck. You are definitely going to need it.”

Gabrielle looked at the cell skeptically before walking in. There was nothing off about it. The door closed with a squeak and Michael locked it after. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just shook his head and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters up so I can hear feedback from you guys! Comment, please <3


	3. Retrieve the Yellow Wool

The princess woke up to villagers shouting. She pushed herself off the dirtied ground and walked over to the cell door. There was a knight holding a torch. Gabrielle couldn’t see very well, but it didn’t look like the knight she met the day before. This one was blonde. The knight walked into a cell and dragged a man out. Gabrielle watched him lock that cell, open another one, and drag another villager out. The process repeated until the knight opened a cell and pulled out the little girl Gabrielle talked to yesterday.

“Hey!” She shouted over the protests of the villagers and kicked the bar of her cell. The metal clanged against her boot and echoed off the dirt walls.

The knight turned around. “What do you want, wench?”

Gabrielle scowled. “What are you doing with those villagers?”

“Nothing that concerns you.” He turned to leave.

Gabrielle growled and kicked the bar again, harder this time. “This conversation is not over.”

The knight looked back at her. “Fine.” The knight took long strides over to Gabrielle’s cell. He unlocked the door and grabbed Gabrielle’s arm. “You’ll continue it with the King, then.”

On the travel back up to the throne room the knight kept a firm grip on Gabrielle’s arm. He didn’t let go until she was once again thrown onto the floor in front of the Mad King -- he was sitting on his throne this time. The King looked down at the princess with distaste, then looked up at the knight. “Why did you bring her here?” The Mad King put his foot on Gabrielle’s back when she tried to stand up.

“She insisted,” he spat. “started bitching when I took this one out.” The knight yanked the little girl out of the herd of villagers.

Gabrielle glared at him and once again attempted to stand up. The Mad King pushed his foot further down. “Did she now?” The King now smiled at the princess. “How interesting.”

“Everything is just so interesting with you,” Gabrielle said, struggling with the weight the King was pushing down onto her back.

“Oh, it is.” The King seemed to be considering something. “She should join them, then.” The pressure was removed off of the princess and she was yanked up by her hood. She scowled at the face of the Mad King. “Who knows? We might get lucky and have to send her back to Geoff in a casket.” The King pushed her in the direction of the villagers.

Gabrielle scooped up the little girl away from the knight. “What are you planning to do?”

The King smiled. “You’ll see. Alfred, get the bow.”

The knight nodded and left.

“Are you sure you can save us?” The little girl asked in a hushed scared tone.

“Of course,” Gabrielle responded. But she was losing confidence with every passing second. The intense stare of the Mad King was not helping. “What’s your name, love?”

“Kat.”

“Well then, Kat, I’m going to make you a promise,” the princess lowered her voice even more to make sure the King did not hear. “I will end the Mad King’s reign. He won’t hurt you, or anyone else, I’ll make sure of that. I have a friend that can help, too. We’ll make sure everyone is safe. You got that?”

Kat nodded at the same time Alfred returned with a familiar bow and quiver of arrows. Gabrielle instantly recognized the items as hers; but the arrows didn’t have the same dark green feathers she was used to, they were red. The King grinned as he saw the recognition cross the princess’s face. “Yes, these are yours, but the arrows are mine.” Alfred tossed the items down at Gabrielle’s feet. “They might help you on your… quest.”

“What’s the quest?” Gabrielle asked as she looked at her bow.

“Oh, it’s very simple. Somewhere located in Trial Woods there is a plain yellow wool cloth. Simply retrieve the item and bring it back to me.”

Gabrielle looked at the King skeptically. “What’s the catch? Why do you want this cloth so bad?”

“It’s my favorite cloth.” The King smiled. “But I assume this could be considered a ‘catch’... Whoever doesn’t bring back the cloth will be severely punished and possibly executed. Depending on how bad you did.”

Kat grabbed onto Gabrielle’s cloak and the villagers shifted around nervously. Gabrielle knew they would do anything to get that cloth. “You can’t have a child do this!” Gabrielle brought Kat closer to her.

“Who says I can’t? I am the king, after all.” The Mad King leaned back in his throne. “I make the game, I make the rules, I choose who participates. And I say the child has to participate.”

Gabrielle scowled. “What if I take her place?”

“Nope. You already have your own place, Your Highness. Don’t be greedy.”

Gabrielle opened her mouth to say more, but a knight with familiar curly hair stepped forward. “What if _I_ take her place?” Michael shrunk down a fraction of his size when the King’s deadly eyes shifted over to him. He added, “Sire?”

The King considered it for a moment. “I’ve never had a knight participate in these before… Should be a chance to mix things up, I suppose. Sure, you can replace her. Alfred, take her back down.”

Alfred snatched Kat away from Gabrielle’s arms. Kat gave the princess the saddest look she had seen on the child so far. All she could do was watch as Alfred took Kat back underground and wonder why a knight decided to replace her.

* * *

Turns out Trial Woods was the forest surrounding the castle; mostly behind it. It was supposedly the most dangerous forest in all of the land. No one knew what was in it. Gabrielle turned to Michael as they walked. He looked much smaller now that he was out of all his armor. Gabrielle and Michael were the only ones to have a weapon. “Why did you take Kat’s place?” She whispered to him.

Michael shrugged. “I may live in the most heartless place on the planet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have morals.”

The knights stopped the group. There was a giant steel gate in front of them. “Alright,” one of them said. “There are some weapons in the Woods that you will be able to use. The first one to get the cloth back to the King wins. Oh, and watch out for monsters.” Two knights walked over to the gate. The doors opened with a slow and loud squeak. “May the best man win.”

Gabrielle took one last glance at Michael before running in with the rest of the villagers. Inside was just as creepy as the outside. The trees stood tall and proud. An eerie fog surrounded everything in a deathly embrace. And Gabrielle had no idea where to look. “I’m going to regret all my decisions, aren’t I?” She looked up at the tall trees.

The princess wasn’t exactly sure how long it has been since they entered, or how far she traveled, but she was almost convinced she hated everything. Gabrielle groaned and put her head against the trunk of a tree. “Why didn’t I listen to Ray?!” She stayed in her position when she heard something rustle in the undergrowth. She slowly grabbed an arrow from her quiver and placed it against the bow. When the princess spun around, she was face-to-face with something truly terrifying.

It was a giant spider. It’s beady blood red eyes seemed to take in the person standing in front of it. The spider stepped closer; Gabrielle could practically reach out and touch it’s fuzzy head. The spider hissed, and that’s when Gabrielle took the hint and ran.

Gabrielle suddenly felt as if she has gone through this before as trees whiz by her. Eventually she skids to a halt and hides behind a fallen trunk. The hissing of the spider draws near and Gabrielle has loaded her bow once more. When the hissing sounds close she pops up and lets the arrow fly, hitting one of the spider’s eyes directly. The spider screeches and is hit with another arrow as Gabrielle inches closer. While the spider is distracted with blood and ooze dripping from two of it’s eyes, Gabrielle pulls out the dagger strapped to her side and impales it on the top of the spider’s head. She pulled it out as the spider gave one last agonizing screech. “Oh, that’s disgusting,” Gabrielle gagged as she wiped the green goop from her dagger.

The princess glanced around as she put the dagger back where it belonged. A flash of yellow makes her do a double take. She glanced around once more, to make sure no one was around, before dashing off in the direction of the cloth. “Damn,” Gabrielle cursed when she saw exactly where it was placed. It was hanging off the highest branch of a tree. Luckily, this tree was one of the shorter ones. She sighed and placed her bow and quiver down on the floor. She jumped up to grab the low branch and pulled herself up. It took a while with her almost falling off a few times and her cloak getting caught on a few sticks (she really needs to find a way to stop that from happening. If they ever find out where Kdin disappeared to she could ask him for an enchantment.), but she eventually reached the cloth.

Gabrielle hopped down and sighed with relief. This would finally be over. She examined the cloth further and noticed it was ripped from something. A pain in her side stopped her from coming up with clues on where the cloth could have came from. The princess put her hand to her side and discovered the material there was warm and wet. When she looked down she saw it was red. Realization finally dawned on her that she had been stabbed. That meant there was someone around.

Gabrielle turned to see a man holding a red covered knife. “You don’t want to do this.” Gabrielle held her hands up -- one covered in blood the other holding the yellow wool cloth. “You are only going to regret it, trust me. Do you want this?” She held out her hand holding the cloth to the villager. “You can have it. We’ll pretend this never happened.”

The villager stepped closer. He hesitantly grabbed the cloth before turning around to leave. Gabrielle let out a sigh but didn’t feel any relief when the villager turned around again. “You can’t really trust anyone here.”

That was good enough of a sign for Gabrielle to duck out of the way of an incoming knife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action/battle scenes aren't really my thing. But I greatly appreciate the comments on the last chapter! It made me happy. I hope to get some more feedback from you guys. See you next chapter <3


	4. Mogar to the Rescue

Gabrielle stumbled back when the villager lunged at her again. She didn’t have enough energy for this. In fact, the only thing keeping her going was adrenaline. The world spun every so often; making it hard to keep track of the man who was intent on killing her. “Listen,” Gabrielle said as calmly as she could with the pounding in her head. She ducked out of the way of the knife. It was starting to get hot. “I’ve told you you don’t have to do this. Do you really want my blood on your hands?” The princess nearly fell over trying to get away. He just wasn’t listening. “King Geoff will have you executed if he --” She yelped as she fell backwards over a log.

The trees didn’t look like they were in the correct spot, and before Gabrielle could breath correctly again, the villager was standing over her. “One last chance,” she coughed out. “You could still walk away.”

But it didn’t seem like he was going to. In fact, it didn’t seem like he was going to do anything at all. Everything was a bit fuzzy and dizzying so by the time Gabrielle realized something was going on, Michael was standing in the villager’s place. “You kind of looked like you needed help.” Michael held out his hand to her.

Gabrielle blinked a few times to get things into focus, then grabbed onto his hand. She winced as all the pain came rushing back into her side. “Thanks,” she mumbled. “How did you even end up here?”

“I walked,” he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “That’s the same way you got here.”

Gabrielle frowned. The throbbing in her head and heat began to increase. “I meant how did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t, really.” Michael shrugged. “I was just walking and happened to hear your voice. When I came over to investigate I saw you were in trouble.”

“Well aren’t you a noble knight.” Gabrielle bit her lip as she picked up the yellow cloth from the corpse of the villager. Her free hand went to her side as she straightened out again. “So if you will excuse me, I have to make sure not to give this to anymore villagers.” She pushed passed Michael.

“Don’t you think you’re forgetting something?”

“What?” Gabrielle turned around and saw Michael holding her bow and quiver. “Oh… Yes, that’s mine.”

When Gabrielle reached out for it, he pulled it back. “What’s wrong with your side?”

“What? Nothing. I’m fine.” It was always a habit for Gabrielle to not worry other people with her problems. But she convinced herself the reason she was doing it now was for spite. She continued to hold out the hand that held the yellow cloth. “Give me my bow back.”

Michael pulled it back once more when Gabrielle reached for it. “That does not look like nothing.” His eyes flicked from the corpse back to Gabrielle. “Did he stab you?”

“That’s none of your concern.” The pain and heat were unbearable now.

“He did, didn’t he?”

“What does it matter?” Gabrielle scowled. “It’s not like…” The world started moving slowly and then all at once. She didn’t realize she was falling until everything was black.

~*~*~*~*~

Everything was loud and too bright when Gabrielle opened her eyes again. The world was still spinning and it made her feel like she would throw up. But once things returned back to normal, she saw she was in the castle once more. It took a while to register Michael was speaking to someone. “... that found the yellow wool. I just brought her back because she fainted.”

“Oh, I know,” it was the Mad King speaking. “Kdin here helped me see the whole thing. It’s pretty useful having a warlock around. I should have done this years ago.”

Kdin? He was in the Mad King’s kingdom the whole time? Gabrielle attempted to sit up, only to find out she was not on solid ground, and her limbs were like jelly. When Michael looked down at her it was suddenly realized that she was in his arms.

“It looks like our princess is awake.” The King smirked. “Congratulations, Gabrielle. You won. You get to live to see another day.”

Gabrielle frowned. Then her gaze shifted over to Kdin. He looked at her with scared round eyes, silently begging for help. “What happens to everyone else?” She didn’t take her eyes off Kdin.

“Don’t worry about that. They’ll live if that’s what you’re wondering. But you need to address that wound, wouldn’t want you dying before the second trial. I’m sure Michael and Kdin will help you when you get back to your cell.”

Michael gave a slight nod and started walking away with Kdin trailing behind him. When they got to Gabrielle’s cell Michael gently set her down on the floor. Kdin glanced nervously at Michael before kneeling down next to Gabrielle. “This might feel a little weird…” Kdin’s hands had a soft purple glow around them when he put them to Gabrielle’s side. It felt like her side was frozen, then when Kdin took his hands away it felt like the ice melted.

Kdin glanced nervously at Michael again before standing up. “I’ll just… go now.”

“Kdin, wait.” Gabrielle stopped him from leaving. “Have you been here the whole time?”

Kdin nodded.

“You didn’t try to find a way to contact us? We thought…”

“I died? That would have been better, honestly. And as for contacting you; I’m afraid that was impossible.” Kdin glanced at Michael for the third time.

“Well, did you ever reach your destination? What happened to Jeremy?”

It seemed that was the wrong question to ask. Kdin wore a wounded expression to replace his nervous one. “We…” He looked down at the floor. “Just realize that yellow cloth didn’t come directly off a sheep.” And he left.

Gabrielle stared at the spot Kdin was once standing. She knew that cloth was ripped from something.

“I’m going to pretend that didn’t happen.” Michael put down Gabrielle’s bow and quiver. “You’re going to need that for tomorrow.”

Gabrielle frowned. “I guess I’ll be seeing you then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the comments so far. They make me happy. It also seems like some secrets were revealed in this chapter. Where were Kdin and Jeremy supposed to go? What exactly happened to Jeremy? Why did Kdin keep glancing at Michael? You won't know until later. But if you have some theories I'd love to hear them ^_^


	5. The Nymph and the Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's slight girlxgirl in this. It's basically some well placed words and a kiss. Nothing much. It's not like they're having sex or anything. But if you do feel uncomfortable you are free to skip over it. It's not THAT essential to the plot.

Ray stared fearfully at the ceiling from a hellish nightmare he didn’t even remember. There wasn’t anything to be scared about, though. Well… perhaps there was one thing. He and a small group of knights were going to the Mad King’s kingdom to scout out the situation. There was no telling what would happen. He experienced that with Gabrielle two nights ago.

Ray groaned and threw his arms over his face. This was terrible. Who knew what Gabrielle was going through over there? Well whatever happened, he hoped she was okay.

* * *

Gabrielle stared fearfully at the ceiling from a hellish nightmare she remembered a little too well. There was almost everything to be scared about as long as she was here. She groaned and sat up. Her hair fell in her face and rolled over her shoulders. The ribbon holding up her hair broke sometime during the night. It was annoying, really. "I really wished I listened to Ray," Gabrielle mumbled. She brushed her hair aside and looked at the bars of her cell, well, where she thought they were. It was pitch black and her eyes hadn’t quite adjusted to it yet.

Once Gabrielle could see the faint outlines of her cell, she stood up and walked over to the bars. There was no way to escape without getting caught. Even if she did manage to unlock the cell doors she wouldn’t make it far before a knight spotted her. The knights seemed to roam all over the place here. Gabrielle closed her eyes and put her forehead against one of the bars. The soft thud made the metal vibrate. But then it sounded like something moved. The princess opened her eyes and waited to see if she wasn’t imagining it.

It happened again. The sound of something moving. It sounded like it was close. Gabrielle attempted to look outside her cell, but it was too dark to see anything. And then the shuffling sound happened again. Now it sounded like it was right next to her. Gabrielle turned her head to the cell next to hers. It… couldn’t be coming from there, could it? Gabrielle was the only one in this part of the underground prison. Only one way to find out, it seemed.

Gabrielle slid her hand along the bars to find her way to the other cell. She grabbed onto one of the bars and peered in as best as she could when she reached the bars that separated the cells. There was nothing. There wasn’t even an outline of anything. Gabrielle furrowed her brows. She was sure the sound was coming from here.

A hand shot out of the shadows and grabbed onto Gabrielle’s. The princess shrieked and tried to pull away, but the hand just tightened its grip. It was pale and deathly cold; it looked like it belonged to a corpse. “Let go!” Gabrielle shouted. But the hand didn’t listen, it just continued to grasp her hand tightly. She hit the hand and shouted at it to let her go. The thing grabbed her other hand. It pulled her so she smacked into the bars and her arm was in the cell with it. In the short seconds the princess saw the hand, she noticed it looked different than the other one. This one had slightly more color and seemed to be… bleeding.

Gabrielle felt trapped. It felt like the cell was getting smaller with every precious second she wasn’t free. The thing kept pulling on her arm but wouldn’t let go of her other hand. No matter what she did, the thing tightened its grip or pulled even harder on her arm. “Let me go!” Gabrielle yelled as she attempted to pull back both of her hands. “Let me go! Let me go!” She kicked the bar of the cell when it still didn't let go of her.

“G... Ga..."

Gabrielle paused. Was it trying to speak to her?

"Ga... G-Gab..."

"W-what do you want?" Gabrielle asked shakily. The voice of the thing sounded raspy and dry; as if it hadn't been used in a long time. It also sounded like it was having trouble with what Gabrielle assumed was her name.

"P-pl... ease..."

Gabrielle stared at the dark the hands were coming from. Please? "I-I don't understand."

The thing made a noise similar to someone stepping on an old floorboard but it also sounded like a type of hissing. At this point Gabrielle realized the conversation was over, along with her window of escape. Nothing happens for a few split seconds. Then it felt like Gabrielle’s hands were being stabbed with needles. She looked at the hand on the bar to see it was digging its nails into her skin.

Gabrielle started struggling again, but it only made it worse. The thing began clawing at her hands; drawing blood almost immediately. Gabrielle let a whimper escape her lips. She didn’t know what to do. This thing was going to rip the skin off her hands and she couldn't do anything about it.

The princess yelped when the thing started scratching even harder. That was when she broke. She fell to her knees and started crying and screaming. She even began screaming for Ray to help her and how sorry she was for not telling Geoff her secret. She screamed and begged until someone grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in a direction she was too disoriented to tell.

“What the hell is the matter with you?!" It was Michael. “Why were you screaming?"

Gabrielle choked on her sobs and looked at her hands. There was nothing there. No blood, no scratches, no evidence that she was grabbed. “I, b-but, ho-ow?"

"What are you talking about?" The torch Michael had mounted on the wall lit up his confused features.

"Th-there was something o-over there." Gabrielle pointed a shaky hand to the cell next to hers. "I-it grabbed me."

Michael glanced at the cell. “You’re the only one here. There's nothing in that cell."

"W-what?" Gabrielle stared at him in disbelief. "N-no..." She looked down at her hands. Still nothing. "There was..." Gabrielle looked up at Michael. He looked down at her with pity, but the same thing that happened when they first met Kat happened now, as soon Gabrielle’s eyes landed on his face he turned expressionless.

He stayed silent for a few moments. "Just go back to sleep. We have a trial in the morning." He grabbed the torch and was about to leave, when Gabrielle grabbed his hand.

"Wait," she said. "D-don't leave. Please." Gabrielle didn't care how pathetic she sounded or most likely looked. She was scared out of her mind. She didn't want to be alone. And if Michael was the only available company, then so be it.

Michael stared at her for a few seconds. He opened his mouth but someone else spoke first, "Michael, you still down here?"

Michael continued to look at Gabrielle. "Yeah."

"Did you find out what the wench was yelling about?" Gabrielle then instantly recognized the voice as Alfred.

"Yeah. It... it wasn't anything, really."

"I told you. She's probably going crazy already." There was a slight pause. "Are you coming back up now?"

"Uh..." Gabrielle unconsciously squeezed Michael's hand. “Uh, no. I think I'll stay down here. Just to make sure she doesn't... do anything." Gabrielle didn't let her happiness show.

Alfred sighed. "Whatever. Suit yourself." Then the torch providing slightly more light disappeared.

Gabrielle let go of Michael's hand.

“I'm staying with you," Michael said. "But I'm staying right outside the cell." He closed the door and locked it. "Got it?"

Gabrielle nodded.

* * *

The sound of the cell door opening woke Gabrielle from her slumber. She knew it was time for another trial to begin. All she could do was hope that it wouldn't be as bad as yesterday. The princess stood up slowly and grabbed her bow and quiver. Michael closed the door and locked it after she exited. Alfred was ahead of them; getting the same villagers as last time. A tug on Gabrielle’s cloak made her look down. It was Kat.

The child looked even more fragile than when Gabrielle first saw her. “How long are you gonna have to do this?"

Gabrielle gave a small smile. "I don’t know. But don't worry. Nothing is going to happen. I'll still save you and everyone else."

"Hey, wench," Alfred called. Gabrielle scowled at him. "No talking to the prisoners."

The group of participants followed Alfred back up to the surface and to the throne room. They were once again greeted by the Mad King sitting upon his throne. He smiled. “How are all of you? Ready for another trial?" No one said anything. Not like they were meant to, anyway. "Great. Today's trial will involve you to be skilled in fighting. Or running away. Whatever works the best for you. There is a certain object that I would like for you to retrieve. Somewhere deep in the woods is a monster, and that is where you will find it."

"What does this object look like?" Gabrielle asked.

The King grinned. "You'll know it when you see it." The answer felt a lot more ominous than it should have been.

Once more they all started walking to Trial Woods. The villagers were a lot more silent during this trip. “So who’s Ray?” Michael whispered after a few moments of walking. Gabrielle was taken aback by this question. What brought up this subject?

“Uh… he’s a friend of mine,” Gabrielle responded a little cautiously. “Why, uh, do you want to know, exactly?”

Michael shrugged. “No reason. You were screaming his name last night and I was just curious.”

Gabrielle didn’t say anything. She just tightened her grip on her bow. She had the same feeling as when Ray and her entered the Mad King’s kingdom. There were eyes burning holes into her back.

* * *

Ray watched as Gabrielle and the group of villagers stopped at a large steel gate. He had no idea what they were doing. It definitely didn’t seem safe. But it also wasn't a good idea to just go over there and stop them. Besides, their orders were to just scout out the kingdom to see what was going on. Ray knew not to stay here any longer than they had to, but he also knew he had to find out what they were doing. It was a hard decision between safety and carrying out orders. "Alright," Ray finally decided. "We're gonna have to go over there."

He could just sense that the other knights were going to protest. So he spoke before they could, "Our orders are to find out what's going on, right? Well can you tell me what's going on?" The Mad King’s knights opened the gate. All the villagers ran inside. Gabrielle stood there for a while and she looked in their direction, and for a second, Ray thought she could see them. A man with curly hair that was standing at the gate shouted to her and she ran over to him without another glance back. "Anyone? No? Then we investigate further."

King Geoff’s knights waited in the brush for a little while longer. The Mad King’s knights were guarding the now closed gate. Ray was going to have to find another way inside. “We have to look for a weak point in the gate,” Ray finally said. “Move quietly.”

* * *

Gabrielle wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for. It felt as if she was traveling for hours without finding anything. There were no monsters or giant spiders to be found. Gabrielle blew a piece of her hair out of her face. That was really getting annoying. "Hello?" Gabrielle sighed. "Big scary monster? Are you even out here?"

There was a rustle of leaves and some giggles followed after. Gabrielle turned toward the sound. “... Hello?” This time Gabrielle was able to see the leaves moving. The giggling sounded like it came from a girl. “Why’re you hiding? You can come out, if you want.”

The leaves moved and someone stepped out. It was not a little girl like Gabrielle expected. It was a woman. She was very beautiful, too. There were flowers in her long flowing blonde hair and the bottom  of her elegant white dress was dirty and littered with twigs. Her face all the way down to her bare feet were the very definition of perfection. Gabrielle felt like a farmhand compared to her. But the thing that caught Gabrielle’s attention was the necklace she was wearing. It was very simple. Compared to the woman it was like a piece of string with a shard of glass attached to it. The woman giggled once more. “I seem to have surprised you.”

Gabrielle’s eyes shot back up to the woman’s face. “W-what? Uh, y-yeah. Kind of. I think… What?” Gabrielle felt her face beginning to heat up.

The woman smiled. It was the most beautiful thing Gabrielle had ever seen. Her teeth still managed to sparkle in the darkness of the forest. “Why don’t you come with me?” The woman’s voice was so soothing and enticing; Gabrielle couldn’t resist listening to what she had to say. “I think I have something that you will like.”

Gabrielle followed the woman without a second thought. All concepts of time eventually disappeared. The princess didn’t know how long she was following the woman -- it only felt like seconds. All she knew was that she had to keep following her. Eventually, the woman stopped walking. They were standing in a clearing. For some reason the fog seemed to avoid this place. The woman stared at Gabrielle for a few moments before walking up to her. It was the first time Gabrielle noticed the height difference. The woman was a whole head taller than her. “You’re very beautiful.” The woman put Gabrielle’s hair behind her ear.

The princess felt a chill run down her spine. “I-I’m not beautiful. You’re the beautiful one here. I’m nothing compared to you.”

“You’re too kind.” The woman smiled sweetly. She put her hands on Gabrielle’s shoulders. “But you should know that you are truly beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful than you. No one can hold a candle to your looks.”

Gabrielle blushed a deep crimson. “I-I…” The woman’s hands slid over to the fasten on Gabrielle’s cloak. It fell to the dirt a few short seconds after. The woman then moved her hands to cup Gabrielle’s heated face.

“You are the most gorgeous human I’ve ever seen.” The woman leaned in closer to Gabrielle’s face to the point where their noses were touching. “No one has ever come close.”

Gabrielle was incapable of forming words. It felt like her face was on fire and the heat continued to rise the longer she looked at the woman and how close they were. Somewhere in the way back of her mind was shouting at her that this was wrong. Something was going on here. She shouldn’t be here -- she shouldn’t be with whoever this woman was. Gabrielle blinked and those thoughts flooded over to the front. “I-I… I shouldn’t…”

The woman held Gabrielle in place and with her soothing voice said, “Don’t. You’re safe here. You won’t have to do these trails -- you won’t have to face the Mad King. Just stay here.” Gabrielle stared in the woman’s eyes. She couldn’t tell if it was a lie, but she knew she had to leave. “I’ll save you. I’ll be sure you get back home. You’ll get to see Geoff again. You’ll play with Millie and laugh with Griffon, only if you stay here and let me save you.”

That offer was enough to push back Gabrielle’s doubts. But only a little bit. “I --”

Gabrielle didn’t get to finish her sentence. The woman closed the distance between them. Gabrielle froze and her face somehow heated up even more. Yes, she had been kissed before, she has just never been kissed by the same gender before. It was... weird. Not in the way you would think, in another way that Gabrielle couldn't quite place.

The woman pulled away after what felt like an eternity. She grinned when she saw Gabrielle’s eyes glaze over. "Now, is leaving a really good idea?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was longer than I intended it to be. But I hoped you enjoyed it! Yeah, that nymph/siren/something part just kind of came out of no where. All my crazy ideas make sense eventually, don't worry. I'm also not quite sure what she is... She started out as a wood nymph but then she started acting like a siren (kind of like in Supernatural) and then you'll see what happens later. I think I made my own hybrid creature... So yeah, comment and all that stuff if you liked it. Or if it made you question my sanity. Either works.


	6. The Noble Knight Meets Sir Good Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Another update? You would be correct. It was one of those times were I didn't stop writing after I finished the previous chapter.

Ray and the rest of the knights had found a way into the woods. There was a break in the fence (that was definitely not supposed to be there. It looked like something broke into it. Or out of it.). They were walking for awhile; making sure not to be see by the villagers. That is, until a woman with red hair walked in front of their path. She was a very lovely woman, quite beautiful indeed. "Are you looking for Gabrielle?" She spoke with a voice like honey.

"What? O-oh," Ray stuttered. "Yes. Wait, how do you know?"

"My sisters have her." The woman looked very nervous. "There is another knight, one not like the others, he is approaching our den as we speak but he will not be able to handle my sister alone." The woman groaned when she noticed the men weren't listening to her. She slapped Ray. "Pay attention! Don't fall under the spell! Your princess is in trouble!"

"Wait, what?" Ray held the cheek that the woman slapped. "Where is she?"

"Follow me."

Ray turned to the knights. "Go back to the gate. Wait there until I return." They followed his orders.

"You have to fight the spell, Ray," the woman said after a few moments of walking in silence. "I can't control what I sound like to you, but you can try to fight it."

Ray took a few moments to register what she said. "How do you know my name? What spell?"

"The spell of my species. We all have a voice that people can't turn away. A rare few, like me, are born with the gift of a changing voice. Whatever voice the listener wants to hear, that's what they get. As for your name, my species is also very knowledgeable."

"Wait... so if I want you to sound like my mom...?"

"Then that's what you get." The woman's honey voice suddenly changed to one Ray recognized all too well.

"That's... kind of weird."

"But my sister, who claimed herself as our leader, is different." The woman's voice changed into another one Ray recognized. "She was not born with my gift nor was she born with beautiful looks like the rest of our species, yet she has all of that now. And more. With her hands on the princess, there's no telling what can happen."

"Okay. So let me get this straight," Ray was trying not to be distracted by Gabrielle's voice. "Your sister is the runt of the litter and you're the special one. Your sister got jealous and found a way to be better than you so with her newfound power she named herself the leader. Now for some odd reason, she wants Gabrielle?"

The woman nodded. "I am not quite sure what she needs the princess for, either. But it can't be anything good." She stopped walking and turned to Ray. “This is as far as I go. Good luck.”

Before Ray could say anything else, the woman disappeared. “A name could’ve been nice…” The knight shook his head and walked through the brush.

A man stood in the clearing. He held something dark green. When Ray got closer, he recognized it as Gabrielle’s cloak. Out of pure instinct Ray drew his sword on the man. The man looked up at him; surprisingly unfazed at the fact a sword was pointed at his chest. “I see you’re a knight,” the man said. “You’re definitely not one of the Mad King’s.”

“Definitely,” Ray agreed. “And the way you’re acting so calm says you are also a knight. But you’re definitely not one of King Geoff’s.”

“Definitely.” The man smirked slightly. “That answers everything, doesn’t it?”

Ray moved his sword so it was right on the other knight’s chest. “Not everything. Who the hell are you?”

“I should be able to ask the same thing.” The man glanced down at the sword. “But I’m guessing that won’t happen. So if you must know, _noble knight_ , I am Michael Jones.”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Well then, Michael Jones, what’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be outside with the other two knights?”

“Maybe. If I wasn’t competing.”

Ray looked at him quizzically. “Competing? In what?”

“The trials the King is having the prisoners do.”

“Then why are _you_ doing them?”

“Now, let’s not get into that.” Michael held up the cloak. “I’m guessing you’re here for the princess.”

“That wasn’t my original intention, but someone said she needed help. Where is she?”

“I have no idea.”

“You shouldn’t lie to a man holding a sword.”

“Good thing I’m not lying, then.”

Ray lowered his sword slightly. “So you don’t know where she is? Then why do you have her cloak?”

“It was on the ground. I’m just as confused as you are, trust me.”

Ray put his sword back in its scabbard. “Great. We’re all fucked.”

Michael looked at him in confusion. “Why would we all be --?”

A woman with long blonde hair walked out of the brush. The two knights turned their total attention to her. “May I help you, gentlemen?” She spoke with a kind voice. “Are you lost?”

The knights stared at her; speechless. Michael held up the cloak and pointed at it. “Looking for someone,” Ray spoke stupidly.

The woman smiled. The knights felt the air escape their lungs. “Did she happen to have long sandy hair?”

They nodded.

“Did she carry a bow and quiver?” The woman put her hair behind her ear and walked up to them. “Wear an outfit a lighter shade of green than the cloak?”

The knights were still incapable of speech, but they nodded again.

The woman smirked. “Why don’t you come out, dear?” She called behind her. “I have some knights who are looking for you. I’m sure you’ll recognize them.” Gabrielle stepped out of the brush. She walked over to the woman and stood next to her.

“G-Gabrielle?” Ray was finally able to avert his eyes from the woman. Gabrielle didn’t look like herself. Her hair wasn’t in a bun like Ray was used to seeing it, instead it was down and looked like she had run to hell and back. She looked tired and there was something off about her eyes.

“I’m guessing this is who you were looking for.” Ray’s eyes suddenly shot back to the woman. Her voice changed. She sounded exactly like Gabrielle.

Ray knew this was the sister the red haired woman was warning him about. He drew his sword on her. “I know what you are.”

The woman’s face went from suprised to a scowl. But then she laughed. She laughed Gabrielle’s laugh and grabbed the blade of Ray’s sword. She yanked it from his hands and threw it to the side. “Oh, my dear.” Ray noticed the gem of her necklace began to darken to a black. “You can’t beat me.”

Gabrielle drew her bow on the knights. The woman stepped back. Michael and Ray watched as they witnessed her transformation. Her fingernails grew into long black claws, the rest of her body tripled in size and started sprouting thick hair. Long, pointed, black horns shot out of her head. The face that was once the most beautiful thing the knights had seen, turned into one of the most terrifying. Her teeth were so big there were some that poked out from her mouth. She let out a ferocious roar.

Michael and Ray took several steps back. A whooshing noise made them spin around. Bare trees had shot up from the ground and surrounded the clearing, making the knights feel like they were in an arena. “I’m guessing we only have one option,” Michael said as he unsheathed his sword. “Want me to cover you while you get your sword?”

“That’d be nice, yeah.” Ray looked over to where his sword was thrown. It was just outside the tree wall. “Ready?”

“When you are.”

The knights took a deep breath. “Go,” Ray said just before he took off to his sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually a little proud at how these chapters are coming out. Wouldn't you agree? Comment and all that stuff. I really like hearing all your feedback.


	7. Animal Impulses

Ray slid into the dirt as an arrow shot from Gabrielle hit one of the trees. He cursed and reached for his sword. A hand grabbed it before he could. The hand belonged to a little girl. She smiled and giggled. Ray scowled. "You're another one of these nymphs, aren't you?" The girl just giggled again. A claw stabbing the ground next to him made him get up and run. "We got a problem!" Ray shouted as he ran away from the Beast.

"And what would that be?!" Michael was having a hard time with Gabrielle. He didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't get close enough to disarm her.

"A little girl has my sword!"

Michael glanced outside the tree wall. Big mistake. Gabrielle took the chance to shoot at him. The arrow embedded itself in Michael's leg. "Fuck!" Gabrielle dropped her bow and took out her dagger. Michael grabbed her arm before she could attack him. "Gabrielle, listen to me. You need the break this spell." Gabrielle was a lot stronger than Michael thought. He was actually struggling to hold her arm back. "We're here to help you."

"I don't need help," Gabrielle growled. She applied more pressure on her arm, causing Michael to use his other hand to hold her back.

"Don't you see what's going on? This isn't you!"

Gabrielle slashed Michael's face with another dagger. Taking his shock as an advantage, she pushed him to the ground. "You don't know anything about me!" She yanked the arrow out of his leg. He cursed at her. "You're just a knight for a bloody psychopath." She put her foot on the wound. She applied pressure with each word. "I'm not some damsel that needs rescuing. I know how to take care of myself."

"I may not know you," Michael grimaced. He struggled to speak. "But I know the Green Assassin. I know what she does." Something flickered in Gabrielle's eyes. "She helps people. She gives hope to the children in the Mad King's kingdom. Children like Kat. You gave her a promise, didn't you? I heard you say you were going to save them. So are you?"

Gabrielle dropped her daggers. "I..." She stared at Michael, and for a second, he could see that her eyes had returned to their original color. Then she grabbed her head and shouted, "Shut up! I-I can't do this!" She moved away from Michael.

Michael kept his eyes on her before remembering Ray was running for his life. "Hey!" He got the knight's attention. He held up his sword. "You might need this!"

"Fucking finally!" Ray ran as fast as he could over there. He vaguely acknowledged Gabrielle before running back to the Beast.

Michael knew the other knight would need help, but with the pain in his leg he wasn’t sure if he could even stand up let alone run. Gabrielle’s bow could work, but the quiver was on her back. And Michael had a feeling she wasn’t grasping enough of reality for him to just ask her for it. The knight sighed in exasperation as he watched Ray almost get smacked by a giant claw. There had to be something he could do. Gabrielle’s dagger caught his eye, and an idea occurred.

“I’m going to regret this in about two seconds,” Michael mumbled as he grabbed one of the daggers. With much effort, he crawled over to Gabrielle. He took a deep breath and stood up. He cut the strap of the quiver and caught it as it fell. “Fuck.” Michael limped over to the bow and collapsed beside it. His leg was on fire. He grabbed an arrow and set it against the bow. The Beast was chasing Ray around like a cat after a mouse.

“Hey! Look over here you stupid monster!” Michael raised the bow. The Beast turned its head in Michael’s direction and Ray had just enough time to figure out what was going on before Michael let go of the arrow. The arrow hit the Beast directly between the eyes. Ray only had enough time to stab the Beast in the leg before it swiped at the arrow in its head and roared at Michael.

Ray removed the sword before the beast started moving, but he noticed it wasn’t running. He actually did some damage to its leg. “Shoot another one, Jones!” Ray shouted as he ran to the other side of the Beast. Michael nodded and let another arrow fly. This one embedded itself in its arm. Ray stabbed the Beast in the other leg and once again pulled it out in time for it to swipe at the arrow and roar. But this time it didn’t start moving. It couldn’t. It fell onto its front claws. Michael shot another arrow. It hit the Beast’s eye.

The Beast roared in agony, and Ray took this as the only chance he was going to get. Ray slid under the beast and thrust the sword into its chest. Instead of roaring, the Beast screamed. It sounded like a woman’s. As if to prove it, the Beast transformed back into the woman. The claws turned into nails, the thick hair retracted back into her skin, and she shrunk down to her normal size. Her legs were drenched in blood and had large gashes on them. The sword went through her chest and out her back. But Ray noticed she looked different. She no longer had flowing blonde hair or a perfect face, she had disheveled black hair and a face similar to a witch’s.

The woman smiled weakly. Her voice was grating instead of sweet, “You’re all doomed.”

“We’ll just have to see about that,” Ray responded flatly before pushing her body off the sword.

The tree wall slowly sank back to the ground. The little girl that held Ray’s sword ran up to him and handed it back. “Thank you for saving us,” she said in a sweet voice before disappearing.

“You’re welcome,” Ray said to the air.

“Hey!” Michael called. “Get over here!”

Ray turned his attention to Michael. Gabrielle was on the ground beside Michael. Ray returned his sword back to where it belonged and ran over there. He handed Michael’s sword back and kneeled down beside Gabrielle. She looked pale, almost as if she was dead. “What happened?” Ray looked up at Michael. “Wasn’t she fine earlier?”

“If by ‘fine’ you mean being controlled by a witch, then yes, she was totally fine.” Michael rolled his eyes at Ray’s scowl. “She was conscious before you killed that monster. I don’t know what happened.”

Just then Gabrielle started coughing. Black ooze began to dribble out of her mouth. Ray and Michael both cursed. Ray sat her up. “Gabrielle!” No response. “Gabrielle, come on.” There was still no response, but the coughing stopped. “Gabrielle, you have to wake up right now.” Ray was beginning to worry. “Come on, Robin Hood, Geoff and Griffon are counting on me.” Ray tightened his grip on her arm.

“... told you to not call me Robin Hood.” Gabrielle mumbled weakly.

Ray couldn’t hold back his large grin. “I know.” He hugged her tightly. “But it’s hard not to.”

“Your armor is cold,” Gabrielle muttered.

Ray let her go. “Sorry.”

Gabrielle looked from Ray to Michael. “What happened?”

“Do you not remember anything?” Michael asked curiously. Gabrielle looked terrible.

“No.” Gabrielle wiped her mouth. She stared at the black ooze on her hand. That only meant one thing. She slowly looked up at Ray. “What the hell happened to me?”

“Do you remember her?” Ray pointed to the dead woman on the ground.

Gabrielle looked at her. “No.” She closed her eyes and turned away. “Looking at her makes my head hurt.”

“You have to go,” Michael said to Ray suddenly.

“What? Why?” Ray looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m not leaving now.”

“You have to.” Michael lowered his voice. “The Mad King’s watching.”

Ray’s eyes widened. “How?”

“Kdin,” Gabrielle answered. Her eyes were still closed. “He’s been here the whole time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Ray stood up.

“Kind of occupied at the time.” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Fair enough.” Ray started walking away. He stopped and looked back at Gabrielle. “Geoff will find a way to get you back, Gabby.” And he took off.

Michael and Gabrielle were left in silence for a while. “The necklace is the object,” Gabrielle said after an eternity. She looked at Michael. “You should go over there and get it.”

“Can’t do that.” Michael answered her questioning look by moving his hand off his leg. The wound looked worse than when it first appeared. “Unless you want me to limp or crawl, there’s no way I can get it.”

Gabrielle sighed. “Fine.” She stood up and walked over to the dead woman. Each step she took caused her head to pound. But she ignored it and snached the necklace off the woman’s neck. She walked back to Michael, and grabbed her cloak on the way. “You look terrible, by the way.” She sat across from him. “What happened to you?”

“What does it look like?” Michael snapped at her.

“Jeez. Sorry, just asking.” She looked up at the sky. It was beginning to darken. “We should probably wait until morning to leave. This is the safest part of the Woods, it seems. There’s no fog around here.”

“Whatever you say.” Michael fell back. “I can’t exactly walk anywhere, anyway.”

“Yeah…” Gabrielle looked out to the trees.

Ray said Geoff will find a way to get her back. But what will he do? And what about all the villagers? What about Kat? Geoff wouldn’t leave them if he knew what was happening. He’d find a way to get them all to safety. But he doesn’t know what they’re going through. All he knows is that Gabrielle is being held captive. He’d find a way to get her out without the Mad King noticing. And that meant all the villagers would still be trapped. That meant Gabrielle would fail her promise to Kat. Gabrielle sighed. Something will work out in her favor eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit short. Leave a comment telling me how much you liked it. Or hated it. Either one. Thanks.


	8. Goodbye, Your Sunshine

_Running. That’s all that was happening. Gabrielle couldn’t tell where she was going, or why she was running so fast. All she knew was that she had to. It was too dark to see anything, let alone tell what she was running from. But she stopped suddenly. A light appeared in front of her. Then a little girl walked under the light and looked up at Gabrielle. The princess recognized the girl as Millie. Gabrielle tried to speak, but the words didn’t come to her. Instead, Millie spoke. “Why’d you leave? Daddy and Mommy are worried about you. We haven’t seen you in weeks.”_

_“W-weeks?” Gabrielle found her voice. “But I’ve only been gone for a few days. I-I haven’t been gone that long, Millie.”_

_Millie shook her head. “You’ve been gone weeks. Ray died trying to get you back. We’re not sure if you’re even alive anymore. When did you die, Gab?”_

_“I’m not dead! I’m talking to you right now! We’re having a conversation, Millie. I’m not dead, I swear I’m not dead.”_

_Millie once again shook her head. “I don’t believe you. You’ve been in the Mad King’s kingdom too long. No one has ever been able to survive weeks there.”_

_Gabrielle opened her mouth, but instead of words, blood spilled out. She looked down at herself to see her abdomen split open. She was able to see all her intestines clearly. More blood came out of her mouth to stop her from screaming._

Gabrielle shot up. She scrambled to throw her cloak off so she could see her stomach. It was fine. There were no intestines spewing out or any cuts at all. A hand shot up to her face. There was no blood. Gabrielle looked around. Millie wasn’t anywhere to be found. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. It was just a nightmare. She looked up at the sky. It was a bright blue. That meant it was morning.

“Hey,” Gabrielle said as she shook Michael’s shoulder. “It’s time for us to leave. Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Michael groaned and turned away from her.

Gabrielle sighed and stood up. “You have to get up, Michael.” She grabbed her daggers -- that were laying on the floor for some reason -- and put them back where they belonged. Then she discovered the strap on her quiver was broken. She ignored it and turned back to Michael. “Michael, come on. You have to wake up.” He didn’t make any type of movement. Gabrielle sighed and tossed her quiver over to where her cloak lay. “Get up, lazy.” She knelt beside him. “Come on. I’m going to leave without you.” She poked him. She tilted her head slightly when Michael didn’t even respond to the poke. “Are you okay?” The princess put her hand up to his forehead.

“Oh my God, Michael.” Gabrielle retracted her hand. “You’re burning.” She glanced down at his leg. “Your wound must be infected. We have to get you to Kdin.” Gabrielle took his hands and started pulling him up. Michael groaned in protest. “Shut up, I know. But this is for your own good.” When she got him up she put one of his arm over her shoulders. She then noticed that her cloak and quiver were still on the ground. Along with the necklace. “Damn. I did not think this through.” She huffed before before finding a way to kneel with Michael leaning against her. She grabbed the necklace and hooked it on her belt, then she grabbed the cloak and quiver. Gabrielle slowly stood up. “Okay. We can do this.” She blew hair out of her face and threw her cloak over her shoulder.

Gabrielle wrapped her arm around Michael’s waist to steady him more as they walked. Somewhere along the slow walk back she froze in her tracks and cursed. “I bloody forgot my bow.” They had actually made it a long way already. But she just couldn’t leave her bow behind. “Shit. Okay, uh, I’m just going to…” She slowly lowered Michael to the ground and leaned him against the tree. Then she covered him with her cloak and set the quiver beside him. “Don’t die while I’m gone.” And she took off to go get her bow.

The run back was much faster. She grabbed her bow that was laying carelessly on the ground and ran back. Gabrielle was almost to Michael when she skidded to a halt. There were voices. One was a woman. The other was Michael. Gabrielle stepped to the side to be hidden by a tree. She poked her head around the trunk to see what was going on.

The woman, a villager, was holding Gabrielle’s cloak tightly in her fist. “Just tell me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michael grumbled. He sounded like he was in a lot of pain. “Not like I would tell you anyway.”

The woman scowled and slapped him. Gabrielle’s fingers twitched when she noticed it was on the cheek he had a cut on. “If you have this then you know where she is.” She held up Gabrielle’s cloak. “Now tell me.” She slapped him again.

Michael’s face was now in the direction of the tree Gabrielle was hiding behind. He noticed her but said nothing. “I don’t know. What would you want with her anyway?” Gabrielle furrowed her eyebrows.

“She won the last trial. She’s the Green Assassin. It’s obvious that she already has the object.”

“What are you planning to do when you find her?” Michael looked at the woman. “It’s not like you’ll be able to get the object off her. She’ll take you down without even trying, trust me.”

Gabrielle wrapped her hand around one of her daggers.

The woman raised her hand to slap Michael again. He grabbed her wrist before she made contact. “You don’t have a plan, do you?” Michael gave a sardonic smile. “You’ll be dead before you can even touch her.”

The woman dropped Gabrielle’s cloak and brought out a dagger much more menacing than Gabrielle’s. Michael immediately grabbed the woman’s arm before she could stab him. He had to use both his hands to stop her. In his current state she was much stronger than him.

Gabrielle threw her bow over her shoulder and brought out her dagger. She marched up to the woman and pushed her away from Michael. The woman stared at her in shock. “You really shouldn’t take advantage of injured people.” Gabrielle tossed her bow off to the side next to Michael. “That’s just a cruel thing to do.”

The woman’s shock was replaced with a large grin. Michael shouted, “Behind you!” Just in time for Gabrielle to be yanked back by her hair. She shrieked and hit the ground.

Gabrielle looked up to see a man three times the size of her. “Oh,” she wheezed. “That’s unfair.” She rolled out of the way before the man’s fist came into contact with her face. The princess stood up and grabbed her other dagger. She hissed when she felt a sting on her arm. She turned and saw her blood on the woman’s dagger. It was only a cut, but it stung more than it should’ve. “Now it’s really unfair.” Gabrielle ducked away from the man’s fist.

The woman laughed. “I say it’s fair enough.” Gabrielle drew her arm back before the woman could slice it. She took a few steps away from them. “From what your knight friend told me, you’re very skilled. I’d say my son is enough to make the fight equal.”

“Equal?!” Gabrielle kept having to retreat from them. It was either a fist coming her way or a dagger. “I doubt two against one is equal.” Her back came into contact with a tree.

“Well then I guess we’ll just have to see if your friend was right about your skills.”

Gabrielle slid down the tree quickly just as a fist hit the bark where her face had been. From her spot on the ground, she brought her leg out and swung it behind the woman’s legs. The woman fell and Gabrielle was able to jump up and over her. The princess had her eyes set on her bow. If she got that this fight would be over in seconds. Once again the man yanked on her hair. But this time Gabrielle dropped her daggers to stop her fall. The man grabbed Gabrielle’s shoulders and pulled her up. He pushed her in the direction of the closest tree. “Kill her,” the woman growled from where she remained on the floor.

The man wrapped his large hands around Gabrielle’s neck. Gabrielle stared helplessly at the daggers laying on the ground. She clawed at the man’s hands and gasped for breath. The woman stood up and walked calmly over to her son and the princess. Her eyes landed on the necklace hooked to Gabrielle’s belt. The woman chuckled and snatched it. “Can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier.” The woman inspected it. “Quite pretty. Ah, well. Join me when you’re done, sweetie.” She started walking away.

Gabrielle made a wheezing noise and pathetically reached her hand out to the woman in an attempt to stop her. This is how she was going to die. She was going to be murdered in a forest in the Mad King’s kingdom without apologizing to Geoff or Ray. She’ll never watch Griffon carve again or run around the palace with Millie. She was going to fail Kat and all the other children.

The man hissed and looked off to the side. With the little vision she had, Gabrielle looked in the direction he was. Michael was standing up. He was using his sword as a sort-of crutch. The man let go of Gabrielle’s neck and she fell to the ground gasping for breath. The man then began marching over to Michael. The knight stood unwavering as the giant man stood in front of him. “You should try to kill someone who’s closer to your size.” Michael looked up at him. He hardly compared to the size of the man.

Gabrielle flinched as the man socked Michael in the jaw. The knight pushed his sword into the ground in order to keep his balance. He grinned and Gabrielle saw the blood come out of his mouth. He spit his blood at the man. “That was pathetic. I know children that hit harder than you.” The man kicked Michael’s sword out from under him and the knight fell to the ground. He hissed at the pain but looked up at the man. “Were you expecting something to happen from this?” The man kicked Michael’s chest and he fell on his back. He coughed and gasped, “That’s the best you can do?”

Gabrielle looked away when the man hit Michael in the face again. That’s when she noticed her daggers. She crawled over to them and winced when she heard something crack. With her hands wrapped around the handles, she stood up on wobbly legs. The princess walked over to the man as he punched Michael. Without hesitation she plunged one of her daggers into the back of his neck. He fell over and Gabrielle stabbed him again, and again, and again. “Gabrielle!” The princess looked over to the broken knight. “Stop.”

She looked down at her dagger and saw it covered in blood, along with her hand. She put the daggers away and went over to Michael. “You look like shit.” Gabrielle put her cloak on and put her bow in between her belt. She grabbed Michael’s sword and put it next to her bow. She held onto her quiver as she helped Michael up. “You could’ve actually died, you know?”

“I did it to save you, moron,” Michael grumbled. “If I pass out you’re gonna have to carry me. And I don’t exactly like that idea.”

“Then don’t pass out.”

To be honest, Gabrielle had no idea how they made it to the gate let alone out of it. They were the last of the competitors to exit the Woods. They were so deep in the forest that they didn’t even hear the knights announce that the trial was over. With Michael barely conscious, they walked into the throne room. The woman that attacked them was kneeling before the Mad King. The King was investigating the necklace. He looked up and smiled. “Glad you two could join us.” Everyone turned around to see them.

The woman stood up. “How are you alive? Where’s my son?”

Gabrielle took one of her daggers out and held it up for the woman to see. The blood on the blade and her hand confirmed the fate of the woman’s son. “Next time you want someone to kill me, make sure he’s bigger.”

The woman growled. “You bitch! You murdered my son! You --”

“That’s enough,” The Mad King interrupted. “Come forward you two.”

Gabrielle practically dragged Michael with her. The woman stepped aside but glared at them. “Michael needs help.”

“Yes, he certainly does.” The King smiled. “But we’ll get to that later. Right now we have some business to attend to.” Some knights grabbed Gabrielle and Kdin took Michael. “You did the worst, princess. You had the object and managed to lose it. That’s just pathetic.” The knights brought Gabrielle down to her knees. “That deserves the ultimate punishment.” A sword was suddenly brought up to her neck. Gabrielle looked over to Kdin. He stared back with worried eyes. “But not yet. Kdin, I believe you have something to show us.”

Kdin gave one last worrying glance at Gabrielle before he took his free hand and waved it in front of him. A wisp of purple left his hand and began to circle in the room where everyone could see it. It rippled -- like someone threw a stone into the water -- and a picture began to form. Gabrielle’s eyes widened when the picture came into full form. That’s when she realized it wasn’t a picture. It was what was actually happening. Ray was walking down a hall Gabrielle hadn’t seen in days. He was wearing armor which meant he just finished training or was about to go somewhere important. Millie suddenly ran up to him, stopping him in his tracks. When she spoke it sounded like she was underwater. Her voice didn’t come out clearly.

Ray responded to her but it also didn’t come out clearly. Ray and Millie began walking together and the scene rippled before returning into a swirling purple. The Mad King looked at Gabrielle. “Care to say who that knight was?” He motioned to the purple smoke and a picture of Ray holding Michael’s sword came into view. “He seemed pretty familiar with you.” It changed to when Ray hugged Gabrielle. “Do you have anything to say about that?”

“I’ve never seen that man before in my life,” Gabrielle deadpanned. “He’s just one of Geoff’s knights. There’s a lot of those, you know?”

“Oh really?” The picture changed to Millie looking up at Ray. “You’re family seems to know him. What’s the girl’s name? Millicent…? She seems very comfortable talking to him. She must know him very well. How is it that Millicent knows him yet you don’t? That doesn’t seem correct. Maybe we should ask her.”

“Don’t you dare go anywhere near her,” Gabrielle snarled. The knights tightened their grip on her as if she would jump up and pounce on their king.

The Mad King raised a brow. Millie disappeared into purple mist. “Someone is a little overprotective… But if you are so set on us not getting to her, maybe you should tell us who that knight is.”

“I’ve already told you --”

“It’s either a name or we go after Millicent.”

Gabrielle froze. She didn’t want to tell the King anything, but she also didn’t want Millie to be dragged into this. Ray would understand, right? “It’s… His name is… Ray. It’s Ray.” Gabrielle looked away from the King. She felt as if she betrayed her best friend.

The King smiled. “That’s a good girl.” The sword was pulled away from her throat, but the knights continued to hold her down. “For your cooperation I shall let you live.” The knights pulled her up. The King gave Gabrielle a look she didn’t recognize, and it frightened her. For the first time since entering the kingdom, the Mad King frightened her.

As the princess was dragged away she saw the Mad King whisper something to Kdin. Nothing good would be coming of that, she was sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually meant to be longer. I just haven't had much inspiration to write lately... Anyway, comment and let me know what you think. I know some things might be confusing but all will be explained, I promise.


End file.
